We’re All Going Somewhere

If there is only one thing that you take from this review it should be that “We’re All Going Somewhere ” is a record that no ipod or cd collection should go without.

The first time i heard Abandon Kansas I was blown away by how together they were live and was extremely excited to hear their album. To my surprise their record was as organic and creative as their live show. You wont hear any enhanced auto-tune vocoders or samples of any kind. But by no means is this a live record. Teaming up with producer Mark Townsend(relient k deas vail the wedding) “We’re All Going Somewhere” is an exact reflection of the bands life on the road. The album was written completely on the road and even the name of the album is influenced by the bands life of travel.

The album has 6 tracks that vary from the pop side of the band with “I Wonder If It’s Me ” and “Where All Going Somewhere” to the darker/heavier songs like “Months and Years” and “Close Your Eyes.” Although there is nothing on the album the band does not accomplish with their live show there are fun studio surprises like the strings in the bridge of “Make Believe.” I found myself rewinding that section multiple times upon first listening. The vocals by Jeremy Spring are definitely a brand of their own. Catchy radio hooks one after another the songs will easily get stuck in your head. Although the albums lyrics are not as imaginative as songwriters like Ben Gibbard(death cab)and Aaron Marsh(copeland) the lyrics are straight forward and have a very personal vibe that you can connect to.”I could use two lives. Think of the things that we could get done. Having two lives would be so much better than one. One for the things i have to do one for the things i really want to.”

As i was trying to think of bands to compare Abandon Kansas to it became clear the band did a great job of writing their own music and not reflecting their favorite bands or influences. I would say “Where All Going Somewhere” is a great introduction for the band and is a great start on what will hopefully be a long career. I would have liked to have heard more songs in order to hear the full writing potential of this band not just the radio hits which they deliver but six possible singles on a six track album isn too shabby.